12 Cloud Payroll Review: Security, Support and Pricing Explained

Finding the right payroll software for your business can be challenging. If you’re looking for a new payroll software provider, 12 Cloud Payroll might be the perfect choice.

12 Cloud Payroll is a cost-effective full-service payroll provider that offers easy online access, payroll automation features, HMRC compliance, and more for UK employers.

12 Cloud Payroll offers both payroll and workplace pension features, free mobile payslips, RTI (Real-Time Information), e-filing and benefits processing. Additionally, 12 Cloud Payroll is automatically updated to reflect any changes in legislation, ensuring you’re always compliant.

We determined 12 Cloud Payroll to be secure, with SSL encryption and regular backups. It’s also cost-effective and user-friendly for employers and employees, making it one of our best cloud-based payroll solutions in 2024.

What Is 12 Cloud Payroll?

12 Cloud Payroll is a cloud-based payroll software solution designed specifically for businesses in the UK. 12 Cloud Payroll is HMRC-recognised, which means it complies with all the latest UK tax regulations and is updated regularly to reflect any new tax law changes.

12 Cloud Payroll offers several built-in solutions that can help UK businesses save time and money, such as payroll automation, workplace pension integration, online and mobile access for employers and employees, free mobile payslips, integrated RTI e-filing, and more.

How Much Does 12 Cloud Payroll Cost?

12 Cloud Payroll is reasonably cost-effective compared to many payroll providers, with prices for submitting RTI (Real-Time Information) to HMRC starting at just £5 per month.

Here’s how it stacks up:

12 Cloud Payroll’s pricing works on a ‘pay-as-you-go’ model, so you’ll only pay for the services and scale you’re using. Below are 12 Cloud Payroll’s RTI prices as of July 2024:

Further costs include the following: To file Form P11D, which is used to report employee benefits in kind, 12 Cloud Payroll charges £5 per employee per year. To file Form P11D(b), which is used to report class 1A National Insurance contributions due for the year, it charges £10 per year.

If your business is required to pay CIS (Construction Industry Scheme) usage costs, the price for filing monthly CIS300 returns is the same as 12 Cloud Payroll’s RTI prices.

12 Cloud Payroll Features

12 Cloud Payroll’s cloud-based software is robust and customisable, allowing customers to define unique pay periods, manage employee data, set up tax withholding rules, manage deductions, and more.

Additionally, 12 Cloud Payroll offers some compelling features, including automatic HMRC compliance, payroll and workplace pension in one process, free e-filing of RTI data, free mobile payslips, pay-as-you-go pricing, and more.

Compared to other payroll providers like ADP, Moorepay, and Iris Staffology, 12 Cloud Payroll focuses exclusively on UK businesses, provides automatic HMRC compliance, and prioritises a low-cost pay-as-you-go pricing model and an easy-to-understand, user-friendly interface.

12 Cloud Payroll Security

Information security is a major concern for every business, and that’s no less true for companies using cloud-based payroll software. Based on our research, 12 Cloud Payroll takes customers’ security seriously and has a number of measures in place to protect your data. These include:

• SSL encryption: 12 Cloud Payroll uses industry-standard 128-bit SSL encryption to protect your data while it’s being transmitted between your computers and 12 Cloud Payroll’s remote servers. This ensures data is safe, secure, and inaccessible to anyone outside your connection.
• Regular backups: 12 Cloud Payroll backs up your payroll data regularly, allowing you to recover it in the event of a disaster, data corruption, or loss of physical storage space.
• Access controls: 12 Cloud Payroll allows you to control who has access to your payroll data at any given time. You can grant different levels of access to different users, and even block certain users entirely if necessary.

12 Cloud Payroll’s security measures appear comparable to competitors like ADP, MHR, and Moorepay, meeting HMRC security standards and including SSL encryption and automatic backups of payroll data.

12 Cloud Payroll Support Resources

Payroll processing can be a confusing endeavour, with various forms to file, numerous items to keep track of, and seemingly endless regulations to adhere to. To make the payroll process both easier and more understandable, 12 Cloud Payroll offers several support resources for customers to utilise, including:

• Live training and demos: 12 Cloud Payroll offers payroll training and demos for clients and their employees. You can log in as either an employer or an employee, and the website will walk you through 12 Cloud Payroll’s software and payroll processes.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): 12 Cloud Payroll publishes a list of FAQs on its website, acting as a knowledge base for its payroll software. This resource includes topics such as how to use the payroll account, payments, deductions, workplace pensions, holiday pay, RTI, e-filing, online payslips, and more.

12 Cloud Payroll’s support resources appear to be lacking in some areas compared to its competitors, with no live chat or knowledge base (apart from its FAQ page). Competitors like Moorepay and ADP, for example, offer extensive online knowledge bases and help guides.

12 Cloud Payroll Scalability

12 Cloud Payroll offers a scalable payroll solution that is designed to grow alongside your business, handling as few as one to two employees to 500+. 12 Cloud Payroll uses a pay-as-you-go model (mentioned above), with services costing as little as £5 per month and up to £250 per month or more.

12 Cloud Payroll’s scalability appears comparable to competitors, although its services are limited to customers with 5,000 employees or less. For example, competitors such as Moorepay and ADP offer the ability to scale well past 5,000 employees.

12 Cloud Payroll Customer Support

12 Cloud Payroll offers several customer service options, including email and phone support. It also lists its physical address if you’re able to visit its offices. However, like some of its competitors, it doesn’t offer an online chat option.